Trump orders Pentagon to withdraw nearly all troops from Somalia

President TrumpDonald John Trump Biden Says GOP Senators Called Him To Congratulate Biden: Trump’s Attendance At Inauguration Is ‘Important’ For Country Biden Says His Family Will Avoid Trade Disputes MORE has ordered the Pentagon to withdraw nearly all of the 700 US troops stationed in Somalia early next year, the Department of Defense (DOD) said on Friday.

Trump “ordered the Defense Department and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

About 700 troops are deployed to Somalia where, for more than a decade, the United States has helped suppress the local al-Qaeda al-Shabab affiliate, and more recently the local ISIS organization. US forces train and assist local security forces in combating militant groups and carrying out airstrikes.

The move follows a surprise visit by Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller to Somalia the day after Thanksgiving, where, amid rumors of a withdrawal, he assured partner forces of US aid in the fight against terrorist groups.

The Pentagon stressed on Friday that the United States “is not withdrawing or disengaging from Africa” ​​and that officials “remain attached to our African partners and sustainably support through a whole-of-government approach.”

The DOD did not say how many troops would leave the country or where they would be relocated, but that some forces “could be reassigned outside of East Africa”. Those who remain “will be repositioned from Somalia to neighboring countries to allow cross-border operations by US and partner forces to maintain pressure against violent extremist organizations operating in Somalia.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that forces would move to bases in Kenya and Djibouti and enter Somalia on shorter counterterrorism missions.

The announcement marks Trump’s latest move to pull troops out of conflicts overseas before stepping down in January.

In November, he ordered that 2,000 US troops be withdrawn from Afghanistan and 500 from Iraq by mid-January, going against recommendations from military and national security leaders.

Somalia’s pullout flies in the face of recently ousted Pentagon chief’s plan Mark EsperBill Mark EsperDefense Relaunches Stars and Stripes Newspaper After Near Dissolution Alyssa Farah Resigns As White House Communications Director, Compromise Defense Bill Offers Reprimand for Germany’s Withdrawal by Trump PLUS, who called for a lean force presence in Africa by withdrawing troops from more northern countries in the Sahel region.

Inspectors General from the Department of Defense, State Department and the United States Agency for International Development had also advised against such a move, warning last month that Somali forces are unable to withstand terrorist threats in the country without the support of US forces.

“Somali security forces are unable to contain the threat of Al-Shabaab and IS-Somalia, which is a smaller but still powerful threat, without significant international support,” the three wrote in a joint report. .